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y separately published work icon Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Line of Blood: The Truth of Alfred Howitt tells the full story of Australia's so-called 'ablest anthropologist'; the botanist, geologist, senior public servant and explorer Alfred Howitt—and ancestor of the author, Craig Horne.

'Howitt first made his name in Australia as a bushman and explorer—Mt Howitt and Howitt Plain in the Victorian Alps are named in his honour. Most famously, he led the salvage mission that retrieved the remains of Burke and Wills at Coopers Creek and returned the expedition's sole survivor, John King, to Melbourne.

'Throughout his exploratory expeditionary career, Howitt encountered First Nations peoples, evoking in him mixed feelings of contempt and curiosity. To him, they were 'savages', or 'blacks'—classified as 'treacherous and troublesome components of the landscape'.

'That Howitt was an extraordinarily capable polymath is not challenged. What this book challenges are the contributions of Howitt's anthropological conclusions, coupled with his social and political influences, in legitimising the murderous advance of white settlement upon the Australia landscape. For Howitt, the 'line of blood' that followed white settlement was nothing more than the iron law of replacement, whereby an 'inferior race' is inevitably usurped by a 'superior civilisation'.

'Howitt perpetrated a policy of determined paternalistic neglect that facilitated the mechanical dismissal of First Nations Peoples—a policy that bleeds into Australian law, society and culture even today' (Publication summary) 

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Melbourne Books , 2023 .
      image of person or book cover 2654247316860146187.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Booktopia
      Extent: 256p.
      Note/s:
      •  Published August 2023

      ISBN: 9781922779052

Works about this Work

The Enigmatic Howitt : A Troubling, Intriguing Colonial Type Jason M. Gibson , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 458 2023; (p. 36-37)

— Review of Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt Craig Horne , 2023 single work biography
'Alfred William Howitt is a well-known yet enigmatic figure in Australian colonial history. Born in England in 1830 and raised by literary and politically active parents, Howitt grew up amid an erudite and socially progressive milieu. With his father and brother, he arrived in Australia in 1852, hoping to ‘make it big’ on the Victorian gold fields. Enthralled by the natural environment and the liberties afforded to a gentleman bushman in the colony, Howitt decided to stay on while his family returned to London.' 

(Introduction)

Craig Horne Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt Celeste Liddle , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 26 August - 1 September 2023;

— Review of Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt Craig Horne , 2023 single work biography
Craig Horne Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt Celeste Liddle , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 26 August - 1 September 2023;

— Review of Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt Craig Horne , 2023 single work biography
The Enigmatic Howitt : A Troubling, Intriguing Colonial Type Jason M. Gibson , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 458 2023; (p. 36-37)

— Review of Line of Blood : The Truth of Alfred Howitt Craig Horne , 2023 single work biography
'Alfred William Howitt is a well-known yet enigmatic figure in Australian colonial history. Born in England in 1830 and raised by literary and politically active parents, Howitt grew up amid an erudite and socially progressive milieu. With his father and brother, he arrived in Australia in 1852, hoping to ‘make it big’ on the Victorian gold fields. Enthralled by the natural environment and the liberties afforded to a gentleman bushman in the colony, Howitt decided to stay on while his family returned to London.' 

(Introduction)

Last amended 12 May 2023 09:30:23
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